Fall again

Okay, so the problem with having a blog is that you have to update it and apparently I am really bad at this. And now, so much time has gone by that I couldn't possibly fill you in on all the things you have missed. So, lets just suffice it to say...It's fall again in Spokane I am now working full-time (HUGE adjustment) Abbigail is 18 months old and goes to "school" two days a week Dan is as always doing an amazing job at the church and we all get to wear sweaters again...because its fall. I love you fall.

Here is a small collection of pictures of Abbigail from July to now, including some from our trip to Alaska and a recent trip to Seattle.

SUMMER TIME!

So here it is July and I feel like the summer is flying by. Since my last post we've had two birthdays (mine and Dan's), one Father's Day, lots of trips to the park, swimming in the backyard, strawberry picking, strawberry jam-making, many trips to Didiers, lots of popsicle eating, one visit from one grandparent and a trip to Belize (Dan is actually there currently). Whew...have we been busy. This week Abbigail will be 16 months and what a delight she is. She is learning how to eat with a fork and somehow she discovered that she can wink. Of course when she does it makes me laugh hysterically, which makes her laugh hysterically and before I know it we are both laughing so hard that we're crying.

Let me just say that we love Spokane and are really enjoying this summer where it is possible to step out your front door without dying from a heat stroke. And fresh strawberries....does it get any better than that?

Our little flower girl

We went to a wedding this past weekend in Tucson (Congrats Michael and Kristy)! We were honored to have Abbigail as a flower girl as well as Dan officiating part of the wedding! Two new experiences for us and though a bit stressful, still really fun. Abbigail, of course, stole the show.

East Coast Family

We just returned from a fantastic 10-day trip to the East Coast. We got to spend some wonderful quality time with the Robinsons (WE LOVE YOU!), sweat our brains out in the 90+ degree heat for a few days, and hang out with Dan's Dad and Stepmom and our East Coast extended family. It was such a fun trip, allergy-invoking spring pollen aside.
Some of the highlights include:
-Emily and I took Abbigail to the Philadelphia Zoo! Abbigail especially loved the monkeys. Note to self: pack lunch when going to the zoo so you don't have to spend $7.00 on a hot dog.
-Hanging out at Princeton...what a great community and a beautiful campus.
-Shadfest!
-Staying at a cool old Inn in Connecticut.
-Taking a cab in NYC and traveling through Grand Central Station.
-Traveling with a one year old...always an adventure!
-Spending time with family we don't see very often.
-Seeing where Washington crossed the Delaware.

emo hair

Oh my dear abbigail...why is your hair so crazy? This is what it looks like when you wake up in the morning and no matter what I do throughout the day, it is impossible to get it to lay down.
You must have gotten this from your father, because my hair is perfect. ;)

You are trying to be so independent these days, walking everywhere, attempting to run, pretending to read your books (you love the one about the Hippos), kicking around your balls and eating EVERYTHING. I am grateful that you are not a climber and though you are brave, you are also very cautious. I am so sorry I smashed your fingers in the door yesterday...I can't turn around without you being right at my legs trying to follow me everywhere I go. You love all animals and all kids. Nothing makes you smile more than seeing a dog outside or another baby in the store. Now that you have mastered walking, you have started waving again and you wave at everyone you see, except for men with beards...because they are obviously so scary. You love all music and stop whatever you are doing to do the "booty dance" whenever you hear any bit of a tune, commercial, song or even the guitar. You love bananas, cheerios, grapes, cheese and drinking out of a straw....although you will pretty much eat anything I put in front of you. Thank you for this.

You are such a delight and we love watching you grow! I can't wait to do so many fun things with you this summer and watch you explore this beautiful world!

One year old

We have a one year old. On March 8, Abbigail officially became a toddler. Did I mention that she's walking now? Yep...she is now a walker. No more of that stupid crawling stuff...just walking, all over the place. It's kind of fun and nice that she can be so independent. And she is pretty darn cute strutting around like a little penguin. I guess this means I should get the kid some shoes.

Of course I can't celebrate this day without thinking of the craziness of it a year ago and be so thankful that we are both here and healthy. The few days leading up to the this day I was having some pretty bad phantom abdominal pains and was wondering if it is possible to have memory pain??? After the craziness and earliness surrounding abbigail's birth a year ago, I remember one of my friends saying that she believes that babies who come into the world under special circumstances, have special purposes in life. I choose to believe this with all my heart for my little girl. So, here we are, one year later, alive and healthy minus one appendix.

We had a little birthday party for Abbigail, equipped with balloons, cake, the birthday girl party hat, presents and a group of her friends (our friends). It was a blast and I'm pretty sure she had fun. I made her a mini birthday cake and after blowing out the candle, I proceeded to pour hot wax (unknowingly of course) onto my newly one year old daughter's hand (see picture series below). Awesome. So, after screaming her brains out and me mistakenly thinking she was just scared of her birthday cake and then finally figuring out why she was crying, I demonstrated to her just how delicious birthday cake is and of course she loved it. However, no one tells you that after eating lots of chocolate cake and strawberry frosting that your one year old may develop the worst diaper rash you've ever seen in your life. Poor kid.



In the end she looked like this....

And after getting cleaned up she got to play with her favorite new toy!

Thanks to all of you who gave well-wishes and happy birthdays and who were here to celebrate with us! Also, thank you to all of you who provided prayers and support and food and comfort a year ago when our baby girl was born 7 weeks early, a mere 4 lbs 12 oz and I spent weeks recovering from my c-section/appendectomy, while she fought to come home to us from the hospital.

I love my husband OR Why is smoked salmon so good?

I love my husband because he builds things like this...And then puts it in the small backyard of our duplex for all the world to smell. This is Dan's latest and greatest project...A Smoker. Yes, he built it from scratch. Thank you internet for having everything we could ever want. Needless to say, I have an amazing husband who creates amazing things with his hands. We've had some salmon sitting in our freezer since our trip to Alaska this summer, so in the smoker it went and a few hours later out it came, looking like this and tasting so delicious. As Lars pointed out this morning (yes, Lars and Jane were at our house this morning...a wonderful visit!), why is it that smoke is generally a really horrible thing, but when you let food sit in it for a few hours, it creates something absolutely delightful. One of life's many mysteries.

Here's to smoked salmon! And handy husbands!

And I couldn't just leave it at that without a couple pictures of abbigail.

Valentine's Dress! (thanks grandpa)

11 months

Today Abbigail is 11 months old. Seriously? How could 11 months have really gone by since she was born? Are we in some kind of a time warp or something? Soon she will be 1, then she'll be 5 and then 16 and driving and then she'll be in college and I'll soon after be 60 and hopefully living on a tropical island somewhere. WHAT?? SLOW DOWN LIFE!

Many things have been going on the in the life of Abbigail these past couple weeks. She all of a sudden holds her own bottle, only wants to feed herself, stand by herself without support for a few seconds, wears pigtails, plays with the dog and is finally getting her first teeth. It's like she was hiding it all from us and the suddenly realized she is almost 1 and wants to get everything accomplished before her birthday next month. Many days she looks more like a little girl to me than a baby. I miss the baby. :( However, I do look forward to the fun to come...walking, talking, running, jumping, playing...especially with the approach of Spring (can you please come quicker). It will be so fun to spend this summer with Abbigail as she will be exploring the world in so many new ways.

In other news, I am still unemployed, but I have like 15 resumes floating around at various agencies throughout the city. I have applied for a Whitworth R.D. position which of course doesn't start until the fall...so we'll see what comes of that!